1946–2025
Loni Anderson Today: Actor Dies at Age 79
Loni Anderson, the Emmy-nominated actor of the classic sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, died August 3 in Los Angeles, only two days shy of her 80th birthday. She had battled a prolonged illness, according to her publicist Cheryl J. Kagan, but a cause of death wasn’t announced.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement. She is survived by her fourth husband, Bob Flick; her two children, Quinton Anderson Reynolds and Deidra Hoffman; as well as a stepson and grandchildren.
From 1978 through 1982, Anderson played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP, a comedy about a struggling Ohio radio station. The role, which challenged TV stereotypes by equally highlighting her character’s brains and beauty, earned Anderson two Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.
Anderson later appeared in the 1983 movie Stroker Ace alongside Burt Reynolds. The pair began a real-life relationship and married in 1988. Their union and subsequent divorce in 1994 became the subject of intense tabloid fodder.
Anderson continued to act over the next three decades, most recently appearing in the 2023 Lifetime movie Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas.
Who Was Loni Anderson?
Actor Loni Anderson caught her big break in 1978 when she landed a career-defining role on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. Her portrayal of receptionist Jennifer Marlowe turned her into a sex symbol almost overnight but also challenged TV stereotypes by equally highlighting the character’s intelligence. The Minnesota native later starred in the 1983 stock-car racing comedy Stroker Ace. While on set, she met and fell in love with co-star Burt Reynolds, and their subsequent marriage put the duo in the spotlight as a Hollywood power couple until their 1994 divorce. Anderson continued to appear primarily on TV through 2023. She died in August 2025 at age 79.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Loni Kaye Anderson
BORN: August 5, 1945
DIED: August 3, 2025
BIRTHPLACE: Saint Paul, Minnesota
SPOUSES: Bruce Hasselberg (1964–1966), Ross Bickell (1974–1981), Burt Reynolds (1988–1994), and Bob Flick (2008–2025)
CHILDREN: Deidra, Quinton, and Adam
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo
Early Life
Loni Kaye Anderson was born on August 5, 1946, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Carl Anderson and Maxine Kallin. Her mother was a model, and from a young age, Loni stood out as a brunette beauty (she later dyed her hair platinum blonde). As a senior in high school, she was named Valentine Queen of her school’s winter formal.
In 1963, Anderson entered the University of Minnesota to study art. She worked her way through school by winning beauty pageants, namely the Miss Roseville beauty pageant contest that allowed her to represent her hometown at the Miss Minnesota competition. She was a runner-up for the crown, but she added several titles to her name during this time, including Miss Thermo-Jac Clothing, Miss County Style Ford, and Queen of the Hole-In-One.
While still in school, 18-year-old Anderson married fellow Minnesotan Bruce Hasselberg in 1964. Shortly after their nuptials, the couple welcomed a daughter named Deidra. However, the romance was short-lived, and Anderson and Hasselberg divorced in 1966. It was a difficult time for Anderson, who had to take a teaching job to support herself and her new baby while completing her college education.
Movies and TV Shows: WKRP in Cincinnati
Anderson developed an interest in acting and started making appearances in local commercials and theater shows. Still dark-haired, she played in several early 1970s productions such as Born Yesterday, Send Me No Flowers, Can-Can, The Star-Spangled Girl, and Fiddler on the Roof.
In 1973, Anderson remarried to another aspiring actor, Ross Bickell. The ambitious couple decided to move away from Minnesota to Los Angeles in 1975 to pursue more film and TV work. Anderson dyed her locks their trademark blonde during this period and landed minor roles on shows such as The Bob Newhart Show (1972), Barnaby Jones (1973), and Three’s Company (1977).
Anderson’s big break in showbiz came in 1978 when the actor landed a role on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. Actor Howard Hesseman, who played the character of Dr. Johnny Fever, and Anderson, who played sultry radio station receptionist Jennifer Marlowe, became the breakaway stars of the popular show. Anderson became a sex symbol almost overnight, and a pinup photo of the actor in a bikini was one of the best-selling posters of the 1970s. Yet, far from a dumb blonde, Anderson insisted that she be able to play her character as a bright, sensitive woman before signing on for the part. Her vision paid off, and the star earned two Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations for her performance.
While her professional life thrived, Anderson’s personal life was on the rocks. Her instant fame led to the dissolution of her second marriage and, by 1981, Ross Bickell and Anderson had divorced.
WKRP was canceled in 1982, but Anderson used the momentum of her career to continue appearing in movies and television. After starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Jayne Mansfield biopic The Jayne Mansfield Story in 1980, Anderson created her own production company and starred in a number of made-for-TV movies.
Warner Archives Stroker Ace DVD
Paramount A Night at the Roxbury DVD
The actor appeared in a number of popular TV series throughout the 1990s, including the spinoff The New WKRP in Cincinnati, Empty Nest, Melrose Place, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. She also made waves in her role as Tori Spelling’s materialistic mom in So noTORIous (2006), which was met with disapproval from Spelling’s real-life mother. Anderson’s most recent role came in the 2023 Lifetime TV movie Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas.
Marriage to Burt Reynolds
Anderson’s role in the 1983 stock-car racing comedy Stroker Ace changed the course of her life. While on set, she met and fell in love with co-star Burt Reynolds, who was a blockbuster star at the time. Anderson’s performance in the movie was largely panned, but her eventual marriage to Reynolds in 1988 put the duo in the spotlight as a Hollywood power couple.
The high-profile marriage began blissfully enough. The couple adopted a son, Quinton, together, but then the relationship dissolved quickly into a nasty divorce. Anderson and Reynolds’ well-publicized custody battle over their son and accusations of a painful and substance-abusive marriage made headlines until the couple’s divorce in 1994.
Later Years and Death
In addition to her continued acting, Anderson wrote the 1997 autobiography My Life in High Heels.
As the years passed, she found love once more. Anderson remarried for a fourth time, to longtime friend Bob Flick, on May 17, 2008. Flick is one of the founding members of the folk band The Brothers Four. His son, Adam, became Anderson’s stepson following the wedding. The couple lived together in Hollywood, California, for a number of years and remained together until her death.
On August 3, 2025, Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital at age 79. She was two days shy of her 80th birthday. According to her publicist, Anderson battled a prolonged illness, but a cause of death hasn’t yet been announced.
Quotes
- You have to have the right attitude to be in this business. It’s mainly rejection. You have to have the perspective that the people who rejected you lost.
- I never thought I would be Loni Anderson, sex symbol. But I embrace it. I think I was lucky enough to have been able to play so many different things, and sex symbol was a part of it. I took whatever my career threw at me.
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